Standard Cooking Categories

[motoeric]

If you were to create a new standard for what would be cooked in competitions, how many categories would you have and what would they be?

Ribs
Pork
Brisket
Chicken
Mutton
????


Thanks,

Eric

[MilitantSquatter]

Might not be manageable from a table captain/judging standpoint but I'd love to see :

whole or half chicken (not parted)
half slab of ribs (not cut)
whole shoulder
whole brisket


Have not thought about this in depth to see the pitfalls but what about events where it's your best 3 out of 5 or four out of 6 categories. You can cook all 5 or 6 but you can only turn in your best 3 or 4 that would get applied to a total score.. Then there could be some additional strategy as to teams determining which categories they would want to submit to count based on who else might be competing and the quality of what they came of their pit that day etc.

[Coz]

Vinny your sick 4 out of 6 I have enuff problem getting 4 done.

[MilitantSquatter]

Originally Posted by Coz

Vinny your sick 4 out of 6 I have enuff problem getting 4 done.

We'll ... since were drawing up imaginary contest rules, how about we only allow one unit of each meat ? Might be easier from a qty perspective but more challenging from a perfection perspective to manage 1 chicken, 1 rack, 1 butt and 1 brisket and potentially 1-2 other categories than it is to manage the # of total pcs most teams cook today to select their best product.

[motoeric]

Only allowing 1 of each category to be cooked is a VERY interesting idea. It would help level the playing field $ wise and for people who don't have large/numerous smokers.

Unfortunately, it would severely limit who competes as there are a good amount of cooks who make extra for friends, family and sponsors. Telling them that they can't would hamper their willingness to attend.

Eric

[MilitantSquatter]

Originally Posted by motoeric

Only allowing 1 of each category to be cooked is a VERY interesting idea. It would help level the playing field $ wise and for people who don't have large/numerous smokers.

Unfortunately, it would severely limit who competes as there are a good amount of cooks who make extra for friends, family and sponsors. Telling them that they can't would hamper their willingness to attend.

Eric

Do you think it would severely limit ? Under the right conditions, with the right sponsorships, prize pool etc.. it could bring out the best or draw more into the competition ends that cook very well but don't compete for many reasons ($, the artistic aspect of garnish,layout etc).

[Sledneck]

Beef ribs

[71-South]

Baked Beans, Fatties, Chuckie...

[Sledneck]

whole turkey

[PatioDaddio]

I generally like the KCBS categories, but I would love to see the pork category allow any cut (loin, tenderloin, country-style ribs, chops, whatever). The chicken category is pretty much that way, so why not?

John

P.S. To piggyback on the post above mine, why not change the "chicken" category to "poultry" and make it an anything goes as well? Even better, why not call the entries simply, "poultry", "pork" and "beef" and leave it all wide open? I know that I'm coloring WAY outside the lines, but why not?

[lwest99]

What if we did it like Iron Chef and the BBQ challenge and you did not know what you were going to cook until you got there (cooks meeting)? I think that would be fun.

[Jacked UP BBQ]

I say veal shank or short ribs

[MilitantSquatter]

Originally Posted by lwest99

What if we did it like Iron Chef and the BBQ challenge and you did not know what you were going to cook until you got there (cooks meeting)? I think that would be fun.

Works great as an extra category at some events where organizers/sponsors can support the supply and storage but but it would be a burden placed upon many others to have that as a regular category IMO.

[musicmanryann]

Originally Posted by lwest99

What if we did it like Iron Chef and the BBQ challenge and you did not know what you were going to cook until you got there (cooks meeting)? I think that would be fun.

I really like that idea, and it doesn't have to be a large peice of meat it could be smoked vegetables, cheeses, etc, where the cost of storage and to provide it to each team would not be that involved...

[Brew-B-Q]

It might be fun to have the chicken category specify that a certain piece needs to be turned in for certain contests. Might have to do wings one comp, then drumsticks the next, etc.. Break up the monotony for the judges that are complaining about only getting thighs. Obviously this would need to be mentioned in advance, like on the contest application.